Tour Down Under 2018: The Route

The 2018 edition of the Tour Down Under ran from 16 January to 21 January. As always, the route was a blend of hilly stages and fast finishes. The punchy arrival at Willunga Hill on the penultimate day proved to be an important one for the GC guys - as always

The Tour Down Under returns to Port Adelaide, where the inaugural race in 1999 left. Stage 1 travels to Lyndoch in the Barossa wine region for a likely sprint finish. Caleb Ewan took the flowers in 2016 and 2017.

The 2nd stage runs to on a local circuit in Stirling, that’s ridden three times. Two hills spice up these laps and also the finale. The first uphill section is 4.6 kilometres at 3% and following a short descent a 2.4 kilometres climb at 3.8% leads to the passage on the line. The arrival lies just before the top, so the actual finish is uphill.

Stage 3 runs from Glenelg to Victor Harbor and is tailor made for a bunch sprint, while the 4th stage features an interesting finale. 13.2 kilometres before the line the riders hit Norton Summit – 5.8 kilometres at 5% – and following a small plateau the route continues on another uphill section. The race ends with a 3.3 kilometres (gentle) descent into arrival town Uraidla.

Stage 5 is the famous McLaren Vale-Willunga Hill stage. Richie Porte is imperious on this tracé and has dominated Willunga Hill the last four years. The finale is a 3 kilometres closing climb at 7%.

The final stage of the Tour Down Under is unchanged from recent years. The riders race twenty laps of 4.5 kilometres through the centre of Adelaide before a bunch sprints ignites. Caleb Ewan won the Adelaide-stage in 2016 and 2017.

All stages in the Tour Dow Under have two intermediate sprints – all with time bonuses of 3, 2 and 1 seconds -, while the first three riders on the line in each stage win 10, 6 and 4 seconds.